COMMERCE >> An annual review of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which was issued Thursday, detailed instances of sex, lies and innovative uses of videotape.

The 86-page report by the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, outlined eight cases of alleged sexual misconduct, two instances of false police reports, lies about a use-of-force incident, but also detailed the success of the implementation of surveillance video cameras in the downtown jails.

The OIR, a civilian oversight body created by the county Board of Supervisors, is responsible for making sure internal affairs investigations are thorough and effective and the recommended discipline for deputies is fair.

“LASD’s way of doing business in the jails with regard to its attitude towards force has undergone a sea change,” the report noted. “The most significant change agent that has been introduced into the equation is the installation of video cameras. The Department … is no longer completely reliant on ‘observations’ of inmates and jail deputies to try to figure out what has occurred.”

The Sheriff’s Department has come under increased scrutiny in recent months after the FBI indicted 18 current and former sheriff’s deputies accused of corruption and civil rights violations in county jails, investigations into the excessive use of force in the Men’s Central Jail, the hiring of officers who had committed serious misconduct and Sheriff Lee Baca’s decision to retire at the end of the month.

OIR’s Chief Attorney Michael J. Gennaco said he would give Baca a grade of “Improvement” based on the review, above a “Needs Improvement.”

“I’m not saying he’s all the way, there’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Gennaco said.

The report was the OIR’s 11th annual review.

“I don’t think the department is a mess,” Gennaco said. “I think the department is large. It has a lot of improvement to make, and every day I’m either heartened or disheartened by things I learn that deputies are doing.”

Baca read the report Wednesday, Gennaco said.

Baca’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said the sheriff was “very pleased” and uses the report as a barometer of the improvements that have been made and the improvements that still need to be done.

“It’s very sobering when he reads this, especially now where there’s a lot of criticism and controversy, “ said Whitmore.

Whitmore said the department is “the best it’s been.”

An ongoing criticism of Baca’s tenure as sheriff has been that he lost control of the department, but Gennaco said Baca was more involved last year with the disciplinary matters of his deputies.

“I think the last year and a half he has been more engaged than he ever was,” Gennaco said.

“It took these external influences to help get him motivated,” he added.

Last year, an unprecedented amount of disciplinary action was taken against deputies, Gennaco said. Ninety-seven employees were discharged, according to the report, up from 28 in 2012.

“That is an impressive number and shows at least to those 97 employees, the department has taken drastic action of the most important kind and the most impactful kind,” Gennaco said.

• A sergeant harassed a civilian employee by keeping her in an interview room.

• A detective was in an inappropriate relationship with a victim of domestic violence.

• A deputy’s girlfriend accused him of rape.

Lies

• A deputy allegedly lied on a police report about finding a loaded firearm on a suspect’s person to make the charges “stick,” when he actually recovered it in a planter near where the man was standing.

• A deputy and a trainee took a call from another deputy and wrote a report as though they were there and handled the call, described as “buying a report.”

• A deputy lied on his job application about his financial background.

• Two deputies acted as lookouts while another deputy beat up an inmate.

Videotape

• Of 16 allegations in 2012 at the Men’s Central Jail where video footage was available, none of the incidents corroborated unreported use of force or other misconduct.

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